'He wants to recruit you!'
Ming didn't need long to figure out the Elder's plans. What else could it be?
'It's either that or revenge, but I doubt the second one. You two defeated a hundred of their disciples, so obviously they want you to join them. If those Sects meet a genius, they always try to recruit first. Only if you reject will they turn hostile. It's not good for them if a competing Sect gets another genius.'
'Should we run then?' Xuefeng wondered. 'I don't plan to join any Sects until we are all back together. When that happens, we will think about what to do next.'
'We can't run away. That Elder will find us using his Tracking Artefact one again,' Ming replied and paused, thinking for a moment. 'I got a plan, but I am not sure if I can pull it off. Stall some time for me. If I fail, we will think of something else.'
He trusted Ming fully, so he left that to her.
"Come with me, we will exchange some words with the Elder," Xuefeng informed Tianshi as he grabbed her hand.
Tianshi only nodded with a smile, not questioning his decision. Just the fact he took her with him instead of asking to stay behind was enough to show he cared for her.
The waterfall split in two as they flew out of the cave, stopping a few tens of meters away from the Elder. One couldn't trust anyone in the Cultivation World, and this much distance was enough for converse anyway.
"Thank you for your trust," the middle-aged Elder with a short cut nodded his head in respect as if Xuefeng was his peer.
He didn't mind that Xuefeng was so far away.
"You are welcome. What do you want? Our time is precious," Xuefeng replied casually, preparing to teleport away just in case.
"If that's the case, I won't waste it. I would like to formally invite you two to join our Silent Drop Sect as Disciples." The Elder went straight to the point. "I know you might be unfamiliar with it, so let me introduce it quickly. We are one of the three top Sects in the Water Element Land, having the most number of Qi Manifestation disciples. If you are looking to refine your Qi, we can help you with that. Just as you join, the Sect will present you two enough fragments to refine your Qi four times."
The Elder smiled, probably thinking that was enough to buy them, yet Xuefeng gazed at him suspiciously. "So there are two more Sects just as good or even better than yours, right? Usually, when someone says the top three, they are not confident enough to say they are the best. I guess that's the case here."
"No, no, you misunderstood me. Our Sect is top three because we compete for the first place in the Land, not because we are weaker," the Elder replied hurriedly. "In the next few days, there will be a big tournament that will finally decide which Sect is superior. The maximum age of the participants is thirty, and you fit perfectly to represent our Sect."
Xuefeng wasn't convinced, so he added, "How about this, not only will the Sect help you reach the Fifth Refining but we will also assist you in breaking through to the Immortal Stage! On top of that, as long as you win the tournament, you will receive the full reward from it. The Sect won't take anything. Usually, we take fifty percent of all rewards."
Xuefeng smirked, finally seeing through the Elder. He knew he would eventually spill it. All they cared about was winning this tournament and wanted his help.
Just as he opened his mouth to comment sarcastically, Tianshi squeezed his hand and spoke on his stead.
"Let me guess. We defeated all your Disciples that you groomed to win the tournament for you, and now you are worried that we will join the other two Sects, thus taking away your chances of becoming the top one Sect in the Water Element Land. Am I right?"
The Elder froze at her comment, striking right when it hurts.
"You are right. You defeated the Main Elder's Son, who was the favorite in the tournament. If you can beat him with such ease, winning the tournament won't be a problem," the Elder admitted honestly. "Let me change my offer. The Sect will assist you till Sixth Refining. The most generous reward I can propose. Naturally, it includes you Miss, as well. Both of you will receive the same reward."
Xuefeng took Ming's request to stall for time seriously and turned silent, pretending to whisper into Tianshi's ear when in reality, he was just biting her ear playfully.
"You have to know that the reward I'm talking about is just for joining our Sect. Aside from that, you two will receive the usual rewards and bonuses our Disciples receive. The initial bonus is Equivalent to a whooping six thousand six hundred and sixty Upgrade Fragments for each of you. This is one in a lifetime offer," the Elder continued to convince them.
"You know, we understand that the offer would be generous for a casual Disciple, but how can this reward even compare to the status of number one Sect in the whole Land that I would need to sacrifice my life to get you?" Xuefeng asked with a shrug, making the Elder speechless once again.
He was right. The benefits from being the top Sect were immense, something which thirteen thousand fragments couldn't buy.
'I made it!' Ming suddenly announced in his mind. 'Go ahead and tell him you are already a Disciple of a Sect called the House of Dragons. From what I remember, it should be the top Sect in the whole Heaven Realm. He won't bother you knowing that.'
'Oh, perfect! But why did you need so much time?'
Xuefeng didn't mind bluffing. Bullshitting others was his side hobby.
'Just in case he questions you, I created two Disciple Tokens for you two. Hehe,' Ming explained with a crafty giggle.
"Two Immortal Artefacts of your choice. That's the most I can add," the Elder called out, close to losing his patience. "You have to remember you are still only in a Pseudo-God Stage. The world is dangerous, and only the Sect can protect you."
Xuefeng frowned. The Elder was polite till that moment and suddenly decided to throw a little threat to pressure them. The negotiations ended at that moment.
"You are right. Only the Sect can protect me, and because of that, I already joined one," Xuefeng revealed.
"W-what…?"
The Elder didn't expect that at all, gazing at Xuefeng dumbfounded.
"You heard me. When I first Ascended to the Heaven Realm just earlier today, a funny older man approached us. He asked us to display our power and didn't hesitate to offer us to become his Personal Disciples. He wanted to take us with him to the Sect, but we still have something to settle first, so we went separate paths."
"Who was it?! What Sect?!" The Elder exploded. "Was it Water Palm Sect or Three Lakes Sect?!"
"Huh? Why are you so tensed up? Let me remember. It was something like House of Dragons or something," Xuefeng replied casually, not putting too much significance to it, but the Elder's expression changed momentarily.
All the anger disappeared in a blink, replaced with fear.
"D-did you just say House of Dragons…?"